Red Sox Prospect Plays It Cool After Reported Alex Bregman Deal
The Red Sox reportedly agreed to a three-year deal with infielder Alex Bregman on Wednesday, which is almost the perfect deal.
Boston’s defense will almost certainly improve, as even a short-term adjustment period in moving to second base will be worth the eventual outcome. Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow also found that right-handed bat he’s been looking for, as the veteran is expected to be a consistent presence around the top of the order.
Bregman’s addition to the roster does come with one notable drawback, though.
Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer will now have a more difficult path to the big leagues.
Campbell, in particular, was asked about what the signing ultimately means for him, and played it about as cool as you’d expect from one of baseball’s top prospects.
“I think it’s really cool that we got Bregman, to be honest,” Campbell said on Friday, pr Ian Browne of MLB.com. “I’ve heard he’s a really good person and obviously a really good baseball player. He’s been on championship teams. He’s going to be a leader. He has a lot of great qualities. I can’t wait to talk to him, meet him, ask him about the infield, get to work with him. It’s honestly going to be a super good thing for the team. I’m honestly really happy to have him.”
Vaughn Grissom is another infielder who seemingly lost steam with the addition, but views the Bregman addition similarly to Campbell.
“I’d say it motivates me, for sure,” Grissom told reporters, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “Obviously, I would like to share the field with him. I wouldn’t be selfish and get upset because you never know. You never know how the season starts different than it ends. There’s a lot of moving pieces and stuff like that. Anything can happen. … It’s hard to guess what happens in this game. But yeah, it motivates me. I feel ready to go and I can’t wait to meet him, honestly.
“I’m still going to try to be the best ballplayer I can be and help the team win however I can in whatever role that may be. You never know what can happen.”
The Red Sox didn’t reportedly shell out $120 million to have an open competition at second base, though. Bregman is the guy, and until outside factors change that, Campbell will have to showcase his versatility to make the majors, Mayer will have to continue his climb back into the conversation and Grissom will… well, have to wait.
Bregman is here, which is for the betterment of the club.